Ballybunion

Ballybunion or Ballybunnion (Irish: Baile an Bhuinneánaigh) is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Kerry, Ireland, 15 km (9.3 mi) from the town of Listowel.

There are castle ruins near the town, although all that remains is a single wall, and two golf courses in the area including the famous Ballybunion Golf Club, a top class Links course founded in 1893 and host course to the Murphys Irish Open in 2000 and Palmer Cup in 2004. According to the Central Statistics Office, Ballybunion had a population of 1329 in 2002.

Why Ballybunion?

In the summer, Ballybunion attracts many families and young people to enjoy the sandy beach, warm Atlantic waters and the pubs along the high street. Nearby cliffs offer excellent scenery. Sometimes dolphins may be seen in the waters. The beaches near Ballybunion are a popular surfing site.

Other traditions include the beachside Seaweed Baths, featuring sea water with kelp. In the summertime cooked periwinkles are salted and served in small paper bags along with a pin to extract the small sea snails.

Ballybunion Village

The village itself contains mostly pubs and amusement arcades, fast food restaurants, children's playground, a supermarket, Garda Station and a statue commemorating the golfing visit of Bill Clinton. This was the first statue of Bill Clinton on public display in the world; it is located on the corner of Main Street and Church Road.

The Ballybunion half marathon course is a perfect 13.1 mile loop along the beautiful North Kerry coastline. Starting in the town you will encounter wonderful views of the beaches and cliff tops. Travelling north you will run along the Shannon estuary where the spectacular scenery will shorten you...

The Tinteán Theatre,off Church Road, is a 500+ seat theatre opened in 2006. It regularly hosts plays, pantos, Irish dancing, comedy show (e.g. Jon Kenny, Brendan Grace) and music concert (Brendan Shine, Nyle Wolfe). In July 2007 the Tinteán hosted a live RTÉ draw for the FAI.

The cliffs around Ballybunion are most notable for their rock formations, sea stacks, erosion, and many other geological features. The view of the strata from the Ladies Beach is excellent.There is sea stack called The Devils Castle, a blowhole called the Nine Daughters Hole, and an island / arch...

This Health & Leisure Centre opened in 2007 and is situated on Kit Ahern Road. It has a heated 20m pool, sauna, jacuzzi, gym and exercise rooms. The existence of a swimming pool in Ballybunion has been sought for decades. The complex is open all year round and offers yearly and part-time memb...

In the summer, Ballybunion attracts many families and young people to enjoy the sandy beach, warm Atlantic waters and the pubs along the high street. Nearby cliffs offer excellent scenery. Sometimes dolphins may be seen in the waters. The beaches near Ballybunion are a popular surfing site.Other ...

Ballybunion Golf Club has a secluded location on the southwest coast of Ireland. The club is home to two championship links courses. Robert Trent Jones designed the later of the two courses, the Cashen Course. Jones situated the course right along the shoreline, providing sweeping views of the oc...

Ballybunion Sea & Cliff Rescue was founded in 1986 to provide a rescue service to the locality of North Kerry and West Limerick.
The unit, manned by 35 volunteers, is situated on the Ladies Beach in Ballybunion and operates as a declared resource to the Irish Coast Guard. BSCR operat...

WIM 2013 saw Miriam O Callaghan, RTEs Prime Time presenter being deemed a worthy winner of the Inaugural Mary Cummins Award for Women of Outstanding Achievement in the Media at the Gala Dinner in Kilcoolys Country House.The aim of the Inaugural WIM Event was simple, bring...

Ballybunion Golf Course has a spectacular location off the west coast of Ireland. Located on the north west coast of County Kerry, on a beautiful stretch of sand dunes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, you'll find two wonderfully challenging and unique links golf courses at Ballybunion - the Old Co...

Three of the world's finest golf courses -Ballybunion, Doonbeg, and Lahinch- are proud to present the Great Irish Links Challenge, an unprecedented occasion to play these legendary links courses of the Emerald Isle. This monumental four-day event also features an opportunity to enjoy renowned acc...

The Gathering Ireland 2013, referred to as The Gathering is a Tourism-led initiative in Ireland.It aims to mobilise the Irish Diaspora to return to Ireland during 2013 to be part of specially organised local gatherings and events during the year. It is a goverment supported initiative d...

Theres tonnes of routes to choose from you'll find plenty of your own routes.The Cliff Walk A short stroll that should take no more than half an hour. It starts halfway down the road to the Ladies beach & loops back to the same point. In summer theres a good chance you'll see dolphins, s...

Theres plenty of quiet & fairly flat routes to choose from but these ones all have a pub or cafe halfway.
Ballybunion to Lisselton.
Takes an hour and a half. Starting point is the grotto at the East End of the town where the Tralee & Listowel roads meet. Some uphil...

Ballybunion is mostly known for its world championship golf courses, and a lot of overseas visitors come to play golf. However, the Atlantic ocean also offers up many great opportunities for watersports enthusiasts. Maybe you are a golfer who would like to try your hand at bod...

Collin's is a famous bath house on The Ladies Strand. For almost 100 years the North Kerry community has been benefiting from our famous seaweed baths. Firstly, the natural goodness of bathing in salt water brings welcome relief to general muscular stiffness, tension, arthritic and rheumatic pain...

Bachelors aged 26 to 46 come from all over the world to Ballybunion for a week of fun and entertainment! Many gentlemen meet their true love in Ballybunion and many happy lives have been formed as a result of this festival over the past 40 years.Events include a street carnival, family fun festiv...

ALL roads lead to Gortnaskehy Ballybunion for the annual North Kerry Harriers Pointto-Point races. The thriving North Kerry Harriers club, which is in existence over 13 years, always expect a huge entry for their meeting, where they currently report the course in excellent condition, with good, s...

Saint Patrick's Day - stumble into any Irish-themed pub in Ballybunion on March 17th and there will be a Saint Patrick's Day celebration of all sorts going on. Most of them not really reflecting the sober image the Ancient Order of Hibernians tried to promote with its St patricks ...

Moonshine Lodge Equestrian Centre is open all year round, offering horse & pony trekking and rides to suit all levels of experience. Our treks and trails take you through diverse scenery of the Irish countryside, allowing you to sample the beauty of region, meet locals and share their passion...

Irish Open 2000
Championship Golf - Murphy's Irish Open 2000
Ballybunion attracts Europe's best
Ballybunion Golf Club had the honour of hosting The Irish Open for the first time on the links of the Old Course at Ballybunion in 2000.While Ballybunion may be difficult as the Old Course at ...

Pat Mulcare (RIP) Ballybunion
Pat earned his pocket money and learned his golf as a caddy. In 1965 at the age of 20 Ballybunion Golf Club gave him his first golf handicap of 10. He won the Ballybunion's Captain's prize that year and retained it the next year despite having his handicap cut to 6....

Tom Corridan is another local product and is the only Ballybunion member to win the Irish Amateur Close Championship at nearby Killarney in 1983.
He is also a distinguished Irish team player. He was first capped in position in 1991 to help Ireland win the Raymond Trophy in the Home International...